Hackers Take Credit For PlayStation Network And Xbox Live Outages On Christmas

Gamers who received new consoles for Christmas might find themselves unable to connect and play with friends, thanks to a coordinated attack by hackers who claim to have taken down the two largest gaming networks. On what might be the biggest gaming day of the year, a hacker group called Lizard Squad is claiming responsibility for taking down both Xbox Live and PlayStation Network.

Reports of service disruptions began popping up earlier today, with both Xbox Live and PlayStation Network acknowledging issues with some core services. In both cases, users have had a difficult time logging in to the networks, which generally gives them access to connect with friends and play games requiring online access.

We are aware that there have been issues reported with PSN. Thanks for your patience as we investigate.

For those who just got a shiny new PS4 or XBOne for Christmas, the attack couldn’t have come at a worse time. That’s because new users generally have to be connected to one of those networks even just to set up their Xbox or PlayStation accounts for the first time.

And what are those gamers supposed to do for the rest of the day? Spend time with their families?